Maritime Law Supports National Shipping Industry

2007-04-12 11:34:06

( Legal )



Maritime laws cover a wide body of subjects that impact upon the maritime commerce of man. For example, most people will have heard only of the Jones Act maritime provisions on workmen's compensation. Those provisions actually pertain only to one section of a more comprehensive, federal maritime law known as the merchant marine act of 1920, which covered many aspects of the country's shipping industry.

This codified maritime law has a much more strategic objective in mind. It stipulates that only vessels that are built in US shipyards, and owned by US citizens, and manned by US crewmen may be used to transport cargo or passengers between US ports. In effect, the purpose for this comprehensive maritime law is to support the maintenance of a shipbuilding and ship repair industry for the nation, to create jobs and trainings for US seamen, and to ensure that there will be marine assets for use should national emergencies arise.

There are arguments against this maritime law, pointing out that it stifles free competition and is discriminatory. But this aspect is actually similar to the maritime laws enacted in many other nations around the world that give protection to domestic shipping industries and exclude foreign fleets from operating within immediate coastal waters.

The reasons for this maritime law being so closely associated with seamen's compensation is that prior to its enactment, sick or injured seamen's claims for compensation were limited only to their entitlements under specialized maritime law, which were not really codified, written laws but a collection of customs and traditions dating back to ancient times and collectively known simply as admiralty law.

These humane provisions are official recognition from lawmakers that the working conditions of maritime workers are especially fraught with the risks of injury. Injured maritime workers can now seek the assistance of maritime lawyers to defend their legal rights.


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